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German verb · CEFR A2

erzählen

Meaning in English: to tell, to narrate

Rank 2,173 of 5,000verbLevel A22 forms in the list
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Example

Kannst du mir eine Geschichte erzählen?

Can you tell me a story?

Forms of erzählen in the top 5,000

German verbs change their ending with the person and tense, and each form is counted on its own. These forms of erzählen are also in the top 5,000:

erzählt#976
told; tellsA2

Hast du ihr schon von deinem neuen Job erzählt?
Have you told her about your new job yet?

How common is erzählen?

erzählen is number 2,173 of the 5,000 most common German words. In the texts the list is counted from it appears 42 times per million words — about once every 24,000 words. Its most frequent form is erzählt (#976).

Know every word down to this one and you recognise about 71% of the words in an ordinary German text. A2 means an elementary word, usually learned in the first year.

Next to it in the frequency list

  1. 2,169wesentlichenessential, main (inflected)
  2. 2,170die Maßnahmemeasure, step
  3. 2,171nennento name, to call
  4. 2,172Kriteriencriteria
  5. 2,173erzählento tell, to narrate
  6. 2,174engagierento get involved; to hire
  7. 2,175der Hunddog
  8. 2,176das Wachstumgrowth
  9. 2,177perfektperfect

In these word lists

Translations, levels and examples were written with AI help and are awaiting review by a native speaker — how the list was made.